Run, Dodge, Jump


 

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:14

 
The children in my class love to do an activity called, “Run the Red Carpet.” It’s geared to getting them up, out of their seats for a couple of minutes to help them refocus.  The object is to get down the red carpet in spite of obstacles in the way. There are commands to jump, duck, dodge to the left or right, all along the way. This morning while praying for direction I thought of that little activity.
 
We are called to walk on the narrow path to life in Christ. The path is identified as narrow but not as smooth. I am often bothered by pastors or Christians in general, who suggest that once we’ve chosen to take the journey with Jesus all will be well. Not true! All will be protected (Psalm 91), all will work for our good (Romans 8:28) but all will not be well.

The path we walk with Jesus is full of potholes and obstacles, just like my kiddos red carpet. Jesus said so himself, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.” John 16:33a The good news is that just as the video for the red carpet gives the viewer directions, Jesus gives us direction.

If you feel like you are on the path full of potholes and obstacles, go to the Scripture for guidance. Pray to the Holy Spirit. Jesus was kind of enough to warn us that the path isn’t smooth or necessarily straight. He was also more than kind, more than merciful, very gracious, to leave his Spirit here with us to help us know when to run, to duck or to dodge.

 Stay on the path, no matter how difficult it becomes but don’t try to do it without help.

Comments

  1. Kim BiddleNovember 11, 2018 at 3:56 AM

    I think as Christians our roads may tend to be bumpier than non-Christians because of satan’s attack on us. We don’t always notice it as much as non-Christians might if our focus is on the Lord.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Applause, Applause and Protection

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews 12:1 Reading some Scripture this morning I was reminded of a message that I watched from Louie Giglio. In it Louie described a child of God leaving her home for the day. He goes on about how the heavenly beings see it. With great excitement, he tells of the joy and applause going on in heaven as the woman gets in the elevator, gets to the parking lot and gets in her car. It’s hilarious and over the top, (remember I did say it was Louie Giglio!) but there’s a great lesson in it. My husband and I were watching a TV show about a fictional former president. At one point the poor man is just over the Secret Service detail. He’s tired of them following him around so he fires them. It takes less than five minutes for him to start to see all that they’ve been doing for...
Read more

My Father Saw That

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me, “for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13 There’s a movie from several years ago that I absolutely love! It’s called “The American President.” The premise is that the president, who is a widower, has begun to date. He’s dating a lovely woman while running for reelection. His opponent is awful. He knows he doesn’t have much of a chance against the popular incumbent so he tries to make a mountain out of the molehill of the standing president’s romance. At one point there is a news clip that shows the woman in a protest during her college days. After the clip plays the opponent refers to the president’s lady friend as “the president’s whore.” She groans and says to the president “My father saw that!” She is devastated, not because what is being said is true but because her father, who she loves and respects, saw the clip and heard those words spoken about her. I thought of ...
Read more

Not Really god, where are you?

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning to noon.”Baal answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made. At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said, “Surely he is a god! Perhaps his is deep in thought, or busy or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 1 Kings 18:26b-27 Those who know me would be quick to tell you that I am a bit sarcastic. It’s a quality that I have passed on to my children and even some of my grandchildren. Some days I feel a little guilty. Is that really a quality that God wants to see in me? Certainly that cannot be my go to attitude but there are times that it comes in quite nicely. This morning, reading a totally unrelated verse, I was reminded of this account in the first book of Kings. (It begins at verse 16 and continues to the end of the chapter. I highly recommend reading it if you haven’t and it if you have reread it. It’s great!) In this p...
Read more